Managing power and resources for portable devices has been a vexing problem since the introduction of the wind-up mechanical watch. As portable devices have become increasingly integrated into personal and business behavior, and as battery powered devices become ever more critical for non-computing tasks such as driving a battery-powered vehicle, the consequences of running out of portable device power have become quite severe. While there has been progress in managing power already present in portable devices (for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,779,280 issued to one of the inventors herein), getting power to those portable devices remains a relatively primitive process. The mechanisms for physically delivering the power have changed over time, and now include such things as inductive charging and standardized charging interfaces (such as USB). However, other aspects of charging remain lacking.
It is a relatively common experience to find a portable device has insufficient power for the events planned prior to the next opportunity to charge the device. Frequently, a device fails to fully charge and the user is not aware of the failure until immediately prior to departure—and until after the opportunity to properly charge the device has passed.
Typically, devices provide an indication that they are charging (for example, by showing a “lightning” style icon next to a representation of a battery). Devices may also warn that they are in a low charge state by beeping or displaying a warning. However, these functions do nothing to avoid the most common problems with power status: A failed charge or a charge insufficient to power the device through the events planned prior to the next charging opportunity.
Consequently, there is a significant need for devices, systems and methods that provide an indication of a failed charge or a charge insufficient to power the device through tasks predicted as necessary prior to the next charging opportunity, and thereby allow for modification and/or prioritization of tasks, lower power consumption options and/or allow the transfer of tasks to devices with a higher charge level.